


don't believe in second chances

by ㅎㅊ도 (HChnD)



Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: Bad Ending, DayFive, Gen, Necromancy, Second Chances, hopeful middle, in a way I guess?, jongho brings san back to live kind of by accident kind of not, lapslock
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-29
Updated: 2020-10-29
Packaged: 2021-03-09 06:28:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,815
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27159334
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HChnD/pseuds/%E3%85%8E%E3%85%8A%EB%8F%84
Summary: with a life as pitiful as his previous one, san wasnotpleased to be brought back to life.
Relationships: Choi Jongho & Choi San, Choi Jongho/Choi San
Kudos: 11
Collections: Arthur's Adventures With Fic Fests, freak week 2020





	don't believe in second chances

choi san sighed, eyeing the figure that was staring at him not too far from himself. seriously, he’s dealt with this whole being thing once, he didn’t need to experience it a second time. 

“what the hell did you summon me for?” he spat angrily. the person, who looked too young and naive to actually be the one responsible for this mess, jumped on his spot. maybe he shouldn’t have screamed at the poor kid. they just happened to be in the wrong place and the wrong time. 

or, well, he was. the stranger seemed to be a boy, no older than twenty, with an unnatural red shade on the top of his head. he also seemed incredibly charming, but not in a terrifying necromancer kind of way. he was just a teen who knew how to dress. 

a teen who was also quite taken aback at first, but once the shock passed, smiled at himself. “i cannot believe it worked! the elder ones will never believe me.”

“…the fuck you talking about, kiddo?”

“woah, woah, woah! no cursing in here or seonghwa-ssi is going to kill you! a second time, i guess,” the stranger brushed off his shoulders and smiled to himself.

san still wanted to curse at the weirdo in front of him, but considering he was clearly aware that he had died before, he stopped himself. “who are you and what am i doing here?”

“oh, i,” the kid fixed his posture, smiling at san. “i am jongho. choi jongho. and, uh, i brought you back from the dead.”

“…is this a prank? did i do badly in the underworld and i am being punished with a fake second life?” he opted to answer. sure, he didn’t seem to be lying, and indeed he had been brought back to life. but… the fuck?! “you must be fucking with me right now.”

“shush! no cursing, sir!” he hurried his words. “or ma’am, or whatever you go by. i shouldn’t assume you’re a guy.”

san blinked. “i am a guy. choi san is my name by the way. why did you bring me back to life?”

jongho paused a bit before opening his mouth again. “homework.”

“homew--”

san stopped himself, feeling the anger build up again. _homework?_ he was once again alive because of a kid’s homework? he couldn’t believe that. he closed his eyes, one hand going on the bridge of his nose. he stayed like that for a while, repeating in his head that this could not be happening, only to ve proved otherwise once his eyes were open. he was still pretty much on a fancy table, inside a weird-looking room that probably cost three times the amount of money he had made in his first attempt at living with a heart that was most definitely beating normally.

and, of course, in the presence of this weird young man. “y-- you see, i’m a necromancer in training, also can do some minor stuff buy mainly to bring people back, and--”

“why me, though?” he interrupted the other, turning to face him. “i was a nobody. i was just a poor boy who took care of the land of someone whose name i barely knew. why am i back to life again? because someone had homework to do?”

the other’s eye widened at that and he froze. jongho couldn’t refute that, at least not immediately. instead, he simply stared speechlessly. 

“ah, i get it,” san laughed bitterly. “that is why you picked me. or, well, someone _like_ me. it won’t change things in the underworld nor in here.”

“i-- i’m sorry, i didn’t think you’d react so negatively about it. i can bring you back if you want to.” jongho sighed, looking at his feet. “actually, i wasn’t meant to bring back a person anyway. not that it’s illegal or anything, but… yeah. people have more opinions about living and dying.”

yeah, it made sense. kind of. a bit, at least. it still didn’t sit right with him. who was this kid to decide something like that, especially being aware of that choice and what it could cause? how annoying.

still, as angry and displeased as he was, san was also quite curious. “what changed your mind?”

jongho looked up. “huh?”

“i’m assuming you were going to bring something else back, right? what made you change your mind and bring a person instead?”

he watched as the red-haired man processed his question. he looked at the person who was alive because of him, as if his face had the answer. he looked confused, maybe even a little lost, which would be the least reaction san expected for someone who just had brought another human back to life when it isn't something really nice to do, in many ways. not just because he personally hated his life and would rather rot in the underworld as he had been for so many centuries, but because of consequences much more severe than a man’s wrath for being alive. san was just an ordinary servant all his life, but what if he wasn’t? jongho should have a good reason for doing such a thing.

“i felt you while i was doing the enchantment,” he finally spoke, cutting san’s line of thought and making him tilt his head in confusion. _felt him?_ “i don’t know, don’t look at me like that, i know it’s weird. but it was like your life was too big? like it was shouting for a second chance. like it was wasted before,” he cleared his throat. “it felt like you had lots of will to live, lots of dreams and it got taken from you. and i couldn’t ignore it. it was practicable begging me to take you with me, and you weren’t any past killer or anyone relevant either for good or bad, so i did.”

“…you must be lying. there is no need for me to _wish_ to be alive. all i did was to serve others and all i thought of was to live for others. why would i want to return just to suffer some more?”

jongho remained quiet, his lower lip in between teeth. “that probably is not my place to tell. but if you really hate the idea of being alive i will take you back.”

“and your homework?”

“damned be my homework. if i brought _a person_ out and with your consciousness fully aware, i can do anything and ace it. i am not going to be a dick when you’re only here because of my wrongdoings.”

“oh.” san found himself with no reaction, staring at the one who made him feel anger before for being insensitive enough, suddenly being extremely sympathetic. it caught him aback, especially after he was given the reason why jongho did what he did. it made him uneasy, it didn’t make sense, yet with the promise of getting it undone, he started to question himself. 

did he want a second chance? what for? he knew nothing but cleaning, farming, and giving all he’s done to others. he only knew how to serve and get nothing for himself. he only knew how to work until his body ached, and then he would rest the minimum until it was time to work again. he hated his life. why would he want to do it all over again?

just the fact that his heart was beating once again against his chest made him frustrated.

yet…

san couldn’t stop thinking about what jongho had said. sure, he consciously didn’t want to live. being alive in a mortal body was different than being a soul in the underworld, and maybe his existence there for centuries and centuries made him think about what he could, would do if his life was different. maybe, deep down, he did want to live? but differently than before? maybe he wanted to live a little bit for himself, instead of for others. a second chance where he would be a little more selfish and not used as a poor ordinary man to have someone else triumph and all. maybe he did have desires for himself, and they were so loud that jongho decided to give him a second chance.

he wasn’t so sure anymore. there was nothing that would come up to his mind other than his pitiful life from before, but now that the seed had been implanted, he started _considering_ it. he felt like he needed some extra time to think about it, though, before any decisions.

upon noticing jongho approaching, he stopped thinking to stare at him. he had a neutral expression, moving slowly. once he noticed san’s attention on him, he smiled. “i am sorry for causing you trouble. i will fix it.”

“wait, but i--”

he wasn’t allowed to finish his sentence. he felt a stab right on his heart, on his beating heart he hadn’t felt in so long. its pace went faster and it hurt, more than the knife that has crossed his body. san had never felt this awful, but it was probably because his previous death had happened as he was asleep, too sick to get out of bed.

jongho moved backwards and instinctively san moved towards him. as result, he felt from the surface he was on, watching as his blood coloured the floor. he coughed, vision getting blurry, and he tried to say something, tell the other he had thought about his words, that he didnt actually wanted to go back, that he would want to try things he hadn’t had the chance yo before. but no sound other than groans left his mouth. 

“shh, speaking will only make it worse. i am so sorry, san-ssi. i should have left you there.”

 _no! no!! he is the one who should be sorry!!_

san kept coughing, trying to make out some words, but to no avail. then, he felt a warmth on his left cheek, lifting his head up. a blurry red came into his vision, a faint voice soothing him. it made him slightly calmer, if not for the fact he was literally bleeding to his death. the second death he experienced. 

“it will be alright,” he made out jongho’s words. “it will be as if nothing happened.”

san’s vision slowly faded to black, his head hurting and chest burning. he regretted it. he hated it. his body felt lighter, and it was almost like his existence was being erased, everything becoming just a little stain in his memory, soon to be washed away. he lowered his sight, spotting his hand that no longer looked like his hand, but instead, a dark, disgusting goop. the room started to smell awful and it made everything much harder to endure.

and then, 

he felt nothing. 

  
  
  


“i should clean this place before the elders arrive and question me about all of this.”


End file.
